A grandmother has been sued by a postman who tripped outside her front door. Now she faces damages of £68,000 in compensation and expenses.
Colin Hatch states he fell over a cracked paving stone outside Pauline Little’s house, whilst fleeing from her growling dog.
As a result of the accident, Mr Hatch seriously injured his knee and was subsequently forced to retire on ill-health grounds. The ex-postman is now working as a handyman on a reduced salary, and is said to have made a ‘very good recovery’. In spite of this, he has made a compensation claim against Mrs Little of £34,000, and is claiming the same again in legal costs.
Mrs Little said that she had been off work for health reasons at the time, and had not been able to afford to renew her house insurance. If Mr Hatch’s claim is successful, she, and not an insurance company, will have to pay up. She says that in order to meet these demands she would have to sell her home of 20 years – and would still be left with a substantial debt. A final ruling on the amount of compensation Mrs Little must pay will be decided next month.
However, both parties are in disagreement over the circumstances of the incident. Mrs Little claims that on the day in question, both she and her dog were staying at her daughter’s house; where she was out of work recovering from a broken ankle. In a statement, Mr Hatch said he knew that she had two dogs, and when he heard a growling dog he thought Mrs. Little’s other ‘aggressive’ dog might attack him too. Mrs Little says she has one dog, Jake.
Mr Hatch says that for three years, Mrs Little has avoided answering his solicitor’s letters, and that her recent appearance in court was the ‘first time she had responded to this’. Mrs Little awaits a decision next month, which will determine if she loses her home.
Related Personal Injury News
- Footballer makes personal injury claim against FA
- Car insurance hike due to personal injury claims?
- Injured prisoner receives £4.7 million compensation
- Drink-driving still in the headlines
- Family to receive £362,500 accident compensation payout following fatal 2007 HGV collision